Original Keeping Up With the Kardashians viewers are no stranger to speculation about Khloé Kardashian’s paternity. For years, rumors swirled that the reality star was actually the daughter of the late O.J. Simpson.
The theories first took hold after Kris Jenner published her Kris Jenner and All Things Kardashian memoir in November 2011. In the book, she admitted to having an affair while she was married to the late Robert Kardashian.
Following Robert’s divorce from Jenner, the late attorney went on to marry Jan Ashley. After Robert died in 2003, Ashley claimed that he told her Khloé wasn’t his biological daughter.
“Khloé is not his kid — he told me that after we got married,” she alleged in a 2012 interview. “He just kind of looked at me and said [it] like it was a matter of fact. He said, ‘Well, you know that Khloé’s not really a Kardashian, don’t you? And I said … ‘OK,’ and that was it.”
From that point on, the public ran wild with rumors that Simpson, who died in April 2024 after a battle with prostate cancer, was Khloé’s real father.
The Kardashian family’s connection to Simpson came through Robert, who was the former NFL star’s lawyer. Robert was part of Simpson’s legal team when the athlete was charged for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994. (Simpson was acquitted of all charges in 1995 but found liable for the pair’s deaths in a civil trial three years later.)
While both Khloé and Simpson have spoken out about and subsequently denied the paternity speculation on various occasions, the situation was famously discussed on a 2012 episode of KUWTK.
Season 7, episode 1 — aptly titled “Who’s Your Daddy” — featured Jenner traveling to Texas, where Khloé lived with then-husband Lamar Odom.
“I know all the rumors are absolutely ridiculous,” Jenner said while trying to convince her daughter to take a DNA test. “But I know this is something she needs in order to feel complete.”
Kris convinced her other kids Kim Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Rob Kardashian to take DNA tests as a comparison. Khloé, however, remained unmoved.
“Mom, I don’t care what they’re saying,” Khloé said. “Seriously, my dad is Robert Kardashian. My other dad is [Caitlyn] Jenner. I don’t need someone to tell me who my family is. I have had the blessing of having two phenomenal fathers. I don’t need a DNA test to prove who my father is.”
Simpson also addressed the rumors, albeit years later.
“People have their types, right? I always thought Kris was a cute girl,” the late football star said during the “Full Send” podcast in December 2022. “She was really nice. But I was dating supermodels.”
When asked about the speculation regarding Khloé specifically, Simpson said: “The rumor ain’t true. It’s not even anywhere close to being true.”
